


Dinner With The Avengers

by scarletmanuka



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining, Prompt Fill, StarkerBingo2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 17:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19446676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmanuka/pseuds/scarletmanuka
Summary: For the Starker Bingo 2019 square: Family Dinner (in this case, the family is the team).Peter is pining for Tony, whom he believes is pining for Cap. He tries to hide it as best he can but at a dinner with his super hero family, he begins to suspect that they know.





	Dinner With The Avengers

The door to the lab swished open and Peter looked up from where he was watching Tony delicately solder a joint of the new suit to see Steve leaning in the doorway. 

“Hey, Pete,” Steve greeted him, giving a lazy wave.

“Uh, hi, Mr Captain America, uh, sir,” he stammered, still not used to the fact that he regularly got to hang out with super heroes. 

“What did I tell you, Pete?” Steve asked, his tone morphing into the slightly disappointed one that he used for those videos that were shown at school.

“Um...turn my whole body into a punch?”

“Not quite. Try again.”

“Oh, uh, never trust Mr Barton when he’s got that glint in his eye?”

Steve almost smiled at that. “Nope, still not there yet.”

Peter floundered, completely at a loss as to what he’d forgotten. He was beginning to panic when the soldering iron snapped off and Tony flipped up the mask. “I think he’s referring to the fact that he keeps asking you to call him Steve,” he drawled.

“Oh!” Peter gasped, and knew that he was blushing. “Sorry, sir, I keep forgetting.”

“That’s alright, kid,” Steve said, easily forgiving him. “You’ll get more comfortable with it in time.”

“What’s up, Cap?” Tony asked, leaning across Peter to snag a rag from the bench to wipe his hands. Peter shivered at the close contact, and tried not to lean into him. He’d done his best to keep his helpless crush on his mentor a secret, knowing that it would be pointless as Tony saw him as just a kid, but he had to watch his every move not to give himself away.

“I was wondering if you two were planning on coming to dinner anytime soon,” Steve replied. “We’ve been waiting for almost half an hour. Food’s getting cold and we want to eat before we start the movie night.”

Both Peter and Tony swiveled to look at the clock on the wall and then turned back with twin expressions of surprise. “Huh, didn’t realise it was so late,” Tony said.

Steve’s lips twitched in a small smile, one that, if Peter wasn’t mistaken, could be called  _ fond _ . “I figured you both got a little caught up in your sciencing.” 

“Look at you go with your fancy verbs,” Tony teased, standing up and placing a hand on the small of Peter’s back to guide him from the room.

“Yeah, well, I’m not just a pretty face,” Steve quipped.

“No, there’s those abs and biceps and that  _ ass  _ as well,” Tony gushed, giving him what could only be described as a leer as they entered the elevator.

Peter tried his best not to pout as the two men flirted the entire way up to the communal floor but it was hard not to. He was head over heels for Tony, had been since he’d entered puberty and it had only gotten worse since he’d actually met the man. He knew that even if his age wasn’t a factor, he would still be totally out of Tony’s league. The genius had the rich, the powerful, and the beautiful throwing themselves at his feet and he could have anyone that he wanted. When he and Miss Potts had broken up, Stark Industries had had to hire extra security to keep the hordes of hopeful admirers at bay. Even Peter had been ambushed on his way into the Tower, with an older, rather elegant woman pressing a crumpled piece of paper into his hand, promising him anything he desired if only he would deliver her message to Tony himself. Tony had ignored them all, telling the press that he wasn’t ready for another relationship as yet, but Peter personally thought that it was because he had his eye on someone already - namely Steve ‘Captain America’ Rogers.

Things had been tense for a while when the Avengers had been on opposing sides over the whole Bucky Barnes incident. It had taken an international incident and then several months of talks and negotiations for the feud to be settled. Barnes had contacted Pepper directly, explaining how miserable Steve was while he was at odds with Tony, and between the two of them, they had forced everyone together into a small cabin for a week, refusing to let anyone leave before matters had been settled. Peter had been invited but most of the conversations went over his head, having to do with old resentments and grievances that had happened well before he’d known any of them. He’d stayed though, mostly to be a silent offering of support to Tony, and also so he could be close to him. There had been a few stand offs, some tears, a lot of frank and emotionally exhausting conversations, and finally they had all agreed to let bygones be bygones and to just move on. 

Most of the Avengers had moved back into the Tower, thought Clint only stayed half the time, moving back and forth between the farm and New York. Bruce Banner was still MIA and Peter suspected that half the reason that Tony enjoyed spending so much time with him was because he was missing his science buddy. Things settled down however and they all fell back into a familiar groove which included the Avengers going on missions together, hanging out and having movie nights and dinners together. It was comfortable and friendly and nice, but for Peter, it was also heartbreaking. He wanted Tony to be happy, he truly did, but it was hard when he had to watch the blossoming relationship unfold in front of him. He’d expected Tony to move faster than he had so far - patience wasn’t exactly one of his virtues - but Peter guessed that after everything that had happened between the two opposing sides, jumping into a relationship with Steve wasn’t something that Tony wanted to rush into. Instead it was a delicate dance of flirty conversations, snarky retorts, and private jokes.

The rest of the Avengers were in the kitchen already or crowded around the table. Natasha smiled when she saw them and pulled a dish from the oven where it was keeping warm. She handed it off to Wanda and then gestured for Peter to give her a hand and he happily came to get the plate of garlic bread and followed her over to the table. It was groaning with food and it took a few moments of rearranging plates and bowls before Peter found space for the plate, and then he looked around, seeing which seat was free for him.

There were none.

Clint saw him looking and smirked. “Sorry, Spider-kid - there were casualties when Sam and I were roughhousing earlier.”

“You broke the chairs?” he asked, a little shocked. 

Sam laughed. “You should have seen it! Clint landed right on his ass, and splinters went everywhere!”

“Oh, well I guess I’ll grab the ottoman from the living room,” Peter said brightly, hating having everyone’s attention on him.

“Oh, about that,” Wanda said, wincing. “I kind of spilled some grape juice on it earlier. It’s pretty wet.”

“Oh, right. That’s okay, I’ll uh, I’ll just stand.”

“Don’t be silly,” Clint argued. “You weigh hardly anything - I’m sure Tony won’t mind if you perch on him.”

Peter was sure that his eyes were bugging out of his head.  _ “What?”  _ he squeaked.

Tony shoved his chair backwards a little and patted his lap. “‘course I don’t, kiddo. Can’t have you standing the whole time.”

Peter looked back and forth between Tony and Steve, sure that the Captain would take issue with this development. Steve didn’t seem at all perturbed however, too busy passing out napkins. Peter noticed that he handed Tony two. “Uh, won’t Capt...I mean, Steve, um, mind?” 

Tony frowned. “Why would he?” 

Everyone’s eyes flickered to Peter and he wanted to shrivel up under the scrutiny. “Yeah, Pete - why would I?” Steve queried.

“Um, well, I guess, ah…” He stammered a little more and finished lamely with, “I don’t know?”

“Pfft, it’s not like you’re gonna squish him,” Bucky drawled.

“Just hurry up and sit down - I’m starving,” Clint complained. 

“Agreed,” Stephen said and somehow even his cloak looked hungry.

Tony reached over and took hold of his arm and pulled him down onto his lap. Peter squawked a little at both the manhandling and the fact that he was now firmly planted on Tony’s thighs, his back flush against his mentor’s chest. “There, settled,” Tony said and then handed him a plate. “Now eat up - I’m surprised you don’t get blown away by a gentle breeze out there.”

Everyone dug into the food but Peter found that his appetite had disappeared. He was acutely aware of every inch of physical contact between himself and Tony and knew that he was blushing furiously. His pants had started to get rather tight as well and he resisted the urge to squirm, knowing that it would be highly inappropriate. Speaking of inappropriate, he couldn’t understand why no one seemed at all bothered by the fact that Tony had his underage intern/mentee sitting on his lap - in fact, they’d all encouraged it! Not that Peter minded, not at all, but as careful as he thought he’d been, he was certain that several of the group - especially the super spies - had easily seen through his crush. He didn’t think that they would be cruel enough to toy with his feelings by taunting him with such situations, but he couldn’t think of an ulterior motive. 

Seemingly oblivious to Peter’s dilemma, the team continued to eat dinner, passing around dishes, complimenting the chefs (tonight’s feast had been prepared by Natasha and Vision), and exchanging banter. After a while, Peter noticed Steve frowning at him and he thought  _ ‘This is it - he’s finally realised exactly what’s happening and he’s mad’.  _ Yet again, however, Steve managed to surprise him. “Peter, why aren’t you eating?” he asked.

“I’m not really hungry,” he replied, knowing that it wouldn’t be enough.

Steve huffed and then turned to glare at Tony. “Tony, make sure that Pete eats something.” It was a command, not a suggestion.

Tony nodded and said absently, “Yes, dear,” then scooped up a forkful of mashed potato and pushed it into Peter’s mouth.

Peter didn’t have much choice but to swallow, but his blush had now travelled up his neck to the tips of his ears. Tony Stark was  _ feeding him _ . How the hell was this his life? He couldn’t even object because suddenly a speared broccoli floret was coming directly towards him. His jaw dropped and his mouth automatically opened and when Tony murmured, “Good boy,” he almost creamed his pants. 

What. The. Fuck. Was. Going. On?

No one was batting an eye. No one seemed to think that this was in any way odd. On one hand, Peter was loving every moment but on the other, his mind was screaming at him that the shit would soon hit the fan when it clicked for everyone just how inappropriate it was. 

A piece of roast chicken was next, smothered in gravy and Peter dutifully accepted it, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing. Tony reached up with his thumb, swiping it across Peter’s lower lip to clean off a smear of gravy and when he slipped the digit into his own mouth to suck it clean, Peter couldn’t help the small whimper that escaped him. With big, wide eyes, he looked up and happened to meet Natasha’s gaze. She winked at him, her lips twitching, and suddenly it all made sense.

Natasha  _ did _ know how he felt, and Clint and Bucky probably did too. They orchestrated this entire thing - but why? Were they against the idea of Steve and Tony being together? Not that he honestly thought that that could possibly be the case, but other than a mean prank, it was the only reason he could think of. Peter wanted to scream in frustration. He just wanted  _ answers. _

The answer came soon enough, but not from the source he would have thought. FRIDAY interrupted their meal to say, “Mr Rogers? Sharon Carter has arrived and is stepping into the elevator.”

“Thanks, Fri,” he said and grinned at everyone. “I hope no one minds that I’m bringing a date to movie night.”

“A date?” Peter asked, shocked.

“Yep,” Steve replied happily.

Before he could ask  _ ‘But what about Tony?’  _ a hand appeared in front of his face, holding a piece of buttered bread. “Open up,” Tony said and Peter complied. His lips closed, catching one of Tony’s fingers as well as the bread and he heard the man gasp as he dragged his finger tip across Peter’s lip as he pulled his hand free. Then he felt the hardness of an erection pressing against his hip. 

Oh. 

Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place, it all suddenly made sense. The team had figured out how he felt, but somehow, amazingly, they also knew that Tony felt the same way about Peter. Instead of watching them dance around one another, they’d decided to take steps to push them together. Tony wasn’t interested in Steve - they just had the kind of friendship where flirting and banter came naturally to them. It was purely platonic. 

By the time a cute blonde had appeared on the common floor, greeting Steve with a kiss, everyone had finished eating and the table was being cleared. Peter smiled shyly at Tony as he helped Natasha pack everything away and when he went into the theatre room to find that there were no spare seats anywhere, he didn’t argue at all when several voices at once told him, “Just sit on Tony’s lap.”


End file.
